Sunday, January 17, 2010

It was another one of those pre-wakeup call days! Morten alerted usabout 6:30 am that Kerguelen Petrels were flying around the ship. Soonenough, the bridge and monkey deck were crowded with birders, tickingyet another life bird. Seas were incredibly flat-- so much so, thatflocks of Kerguelen Petrels were sitting on the water. What a treat!Then, the fog rolled in.

Leader David Vander Pluym presented a lecture on the detailed life ofthe world's largest seal, the Southern Elephant Seal. About 3 pm, thefog had lifted to reveal mirror-smooth seas. Debra made an annoucementthat conditions were great, whales were ahead, and the first SouthernFulmars had been tallied. This woke quite a few folks up from theirnaps. For nearly 4 hours, all of us were transfixed with a greatassortment of wildife. None of us could be peeled away. Therefore, twoafternoon lectures were canceled, recap was canceled, and it was decidedthat the briefing would be very brief!

Marine life is so often found in patches. This was so apparent duringour 4 hours of wildlife watching. We saw many Southern Fin Whales,Southern Bottlenose Whales, Southern Elephant Seals, a Leopard Seal,many Antarctic Fur Seals, as well as many seabirds-- all apparentlyfeeding on krill. The first Antarctic Tern of the voyage hoveredoverhead. Many flocks of Southern Fulmars and Cape Petrels were sittingon the glassy seas.

Finally, Chet Ogan spotted our first iceberg which was 9 miles away.Carved with billowy, rounded mounds at the top, and layered withmulti-colored blue strips, this was a most beautiful iceberg. As we drewcloser, and closer, Captain Pruss maneuvered the ship for us to havewonderful views and photographic opportunities. Two ChinstrapPenguins stood on the flank of the iceberg. Comically, one slide downthe side, like a child on a sliding board. Our Captain received a roundof applause both from the bridge and the monkey deck for his expert shiphandling. At this stage, many of the passengers have developed quite anadmiration of our captain, comparing him to Sean Connery, no less!

After dinner, the staff set up a 24 hour wildlife watch on the bridge.Who knows what is in store for us? We continue to fluff our auras! Theweather forecast is for more of the same smooth seas, tomorrow!